Mumbai KEM Hospital faces blood component shortage as key machine fails

A crucial blood component processing machine at Mumbai’s KEM Hospital has remained defunct for months, forcing it to increasingly depend on supplies from other government and private blood banks.

Records reviewed by The Indian Express show a sharp decline in the ability of the in-house blood bank at KEM Hospital to produce critical blood components. These include Random Donor Platelets (RDP), which are commonly used for patients suffering from blood cancers, dengue, and other conditions that cause low platelet counts, and Fresh Frozen Plasma (FFP), which is used in trauma cases, major surgeries, liver disease, and clotting disorders. The blood bank also prepares Single Donor Platelets (SDP), a higher-volume platelet product collected from a single donor and often used for patients requiring repeated transfusions.

In March 2026, around 500 units of RDP and nearly 1,000 units of FFP were prepared and issued to patients, highlighting the substantial demand for these blood components at the tertiary-care hospital. However, in April, production dropped sharply, with only 12 units of RDP prepared, no SDP produced, and only a negligible quantity of frozen plasma generated. By May, the blood bank had not prepared a single unit of RDP, SDP, or FFP.

The impact is also reflected in the hospital’s growing dependence on external blood banks. While KEM borrowed 400 packed red blood cell units from government blood banks and 129 units from non-government sources in March, the numbers rose to 579 and 209, respectively, in April. In May, the hospital procured 542 units from government blood banks and another 500 units from private sources, hospital records show.

The shortage comes at a time when demand for blood components remains high and is expected to increase during the monsoon season, when cases of dengue and other illnesses often lead to a greater requirement for platelet transfusions.

According to figures available on Friday, KEM’s blood bank had only 77 units of blood in stock across all blood groups, while the hospital issues around 100 units daily. The available stock included 24 units of A positive, two A negative, 12 B positive, one B negative, 15 AB positive, two AB negative, 21 O positive, and no O negative units.

Hospital sources said the decline was not due to manpower shortages. The blood bank has 28 technicians and two technical supervisors, whom they described as sufficient for its operations. Instead, they attributed the collapse in platelet and plasma production to the repeated breakdown of the ageing blood component separation machine, which is used to prepare Random Donor Platelets and Fresh Frozen Plasma from donated blood.

Patients suffer

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The disruption is particularly affecting patients who require regular platelet support.

The family members of an acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patient, who has been admitted to the hospital for the past 20 days, said they have had to arrange blood components from outside blood banks. “The government rate for platelets and plasma is around Rs 300, but when we have to procure them from outside, it can cost between Rs 400 and Rs 700,” a relative said.

AML is an aggressive blood cancer in which both the disease and chemotherapy suppress bone marrow function, often causing dangerously low platelet counts and anaemia. As a result, patients frequently require repeated platelet and blood transfusions during treatment, sometimes several times over the course of a hospital admission.

The issue was raised by Shiv Sena corporator Sachin Padwal, who, along with corporator Aboli Khade, met KEM Hospital Dean Dr Harish Pathak regarding infrastructure concerns at the hospital.

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“Patients admitted to KEM Hospital sometimes need to be transferred to other municipal hospitals for specific tests or surgeries. Earlier, four ambulances were available, but currently only two are operational. We requested two additional ambulances. During the meeting, we also discussed the non-functional blood bank machine. Dean has assured us that it will be made operational within eight to ten days. He informed us that the machine is 10-12 years old and frequently develops faults, and that a proposal for a new machine would soon be submitted,” Padwal said.

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s Public Health Committee chairman Harish Bhandirge, who visited the hospital on Friday, also expressed concern over the issue.

“I learned that the platelet and frozen plasma preparation machine is not functional. It is unfortunate that patients come here for treatment but do not receive the facilities they need. Patients are being forced to arrange these blood components from outside. Such situations are regrettable and should not occur in a major public hospital,” Bhandirge said.

Responding to the concerns, KEM Hospital Dean Dr Harish Pathak said, “The blood bank machine will be made operational soon. As the machine is 10 to 12 years old, it frequently breaks down. Therefore, a proposal to purchase a new machine will soon be submitted to the administration.”